The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it summoned Maharashtra Transport Minister Anil Parab for questioning on June 15 in connection to a money-laundering case against him.
“The agency wants to question and record Parab’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act,” an unidentified official of the Enforcement Directorate said, according to PTI.
On May 26, the agency had carried out searches at seven properties belonging to Parab and his aides in Mumbai, Pune and Ratnagiri.
The Shiv Sena leader was at his home in Mumbai’s Marine Drive area when Enforcement Directorate had carried out searches there. The agency had also recorded his statement.
The Enforcement Directorate alleged that Parab bought a plot of land in Dapoli for Rs 1 crore in 2017, but registered it in 2019. Between 2017 and 2020, a resort was built on the land, according to the agency.
In 2020, the land was sold to a cable operator from Mumbai named Sadanand Kadam for Rs 1.10 crore. However, the Enforcement Directorate claims that a total of Rs 6 crore was spent on developing the resort, which had not been accounted for by either Kadam or Parab, according to The Indian Express.
A show cause notice was also issued by the Union environment ministry which alleged that the resort was illegal and violated the coastal regulation zone norms.
The resort and a road leading to it fall within 200 metres of a high tide zone, where construction is not allowed, the notice had said. It was also stated in the notice that the untreated sewage water is being released into the sea from the resort.
Parab had denied having any links to the resort and had said that it was owned by Kadam.
“The resort has not even started functioning, and yet they have registered a case under the Environment (Protection) Act against me,” he had said, according to The Indian Express. “...They have considered that as predicate offence and conducted raids against me.”
The Shiv Sena had described the action by the Enforcement Directorate as “political revenge”.
“You [the Bharatiya Janata Party] have central agencies with you,” the party’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut had said. “If anyone thinks their political opponents will be destroyed by this if anyone thinks that such acts will build pressure on the Shiv Sena or the Maha Vikas Aghadi, then they are wrong. Every action will only make our resolve stronger.”
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